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Postcards from a Family-Weekend in Chattanooga

By David Currier

Dear Uncle Ben and Aunt “G”,
Driving over the mountains into Chattanooga, you realize the Tennessee River doesn’t run through Chattanooga. It is part of Chattanooga. As the 21st Century Waterfront gets finished in May, Chattanooga and the surrounding great outdoors offer perfect long-weekend vacation-land for Mom & Dad and us kids. About 500,000 people live around here. Today, at the Creative Discovery Museum, I dug for dinosaur bones. Hope you are well. See ya’ soon..
David

Dear Dr. Egan and Vickie,
Chattanooga is an amazing city. We went to The Tennessee Aquarium. It is the world’s biggest freshwater aquarium. I was able to climb inside the tank. There are 9,000 animals here. We saw a weird green seahorse. A new 500,000-gallon saltwater tank will open in May. Up the hill, overlooking the Tennessee River, is the 1904 classical revival styled Hunter Museum of American Art. $19.5 million in renovations make this one of America’s finest art museums. It houses the South’s largest collection of American works. I want to come back to visit the new wing this summer and to see the riverbank below the museum. They’ve got lots of festivals planned for this new 129-acre park. So much to do, so little time.
David

Dear Beth Ann,
I thought about your collection of Grammie Jean’s china when we visited the Houston Museum of Decorative Art. According to our friendly guide, it sounds like Mrs. Houston, who collected thousands of rare glassware items, may have been as eccentric as Jean. Somebody recently published a book about her called Always Paddle Your Own Canoe. We had some light rain today, so the museum was a dry place to enjoy ourselves. I had some hot cocoa at the gourmet French pastry and coffee shop across the street, too. Tonight we’ll eat at a real fancy restaurant, Nathan’s, at the Stone Fort Inn.
David

Dear Kevin,
Since you are a car nut, I think you’d like Chattanooga. There’s a funky Towing Museum, but better yet, this area still has some of the cool tourist stops that developed in the 1930’s and 40’s at the beginning of America’s family-auto-vacation era. Ruby Falls, discovered in 1929, is a torrent of water falling 145 feet from the top of a cave. It’s 1,000 feet below the surface of Lookout Mountain. Not far away is the Incline Railway, built in 1895 to provide fast transportation from the valley to the top of Lookout Mountain. The hill is steep, a 73% grade. You could roll down the aisle of the train car. Your family should come here, too.
David

Dear Aunt Saide,
I know you have a rock garden. You should come here to see the flowers in Rock City gardens. Remember the old Australian movie we saw, Picnic At Hanging Rock? I felt like I was at that place when we walked through Rock City canyons that are only a couple feet wide. It’s so high in the mountains you can see seven states from the top. The cliffs are real scary. A bunch of caves have gnomes in them that depict the theme of famous fairy tales. I climbed a rock wall with a new friend, Mary. Many of the trees and shrubs have nametags. The candy store makes fresh fudge. I got some for you. At the bottom of the mountain there is an old barn with “Rock City” painted on the roof. This was how they advertised to the early automobile tourists. Hope your knee is better.
David

Dear Grampie,
Chattanooga offers an experience that includes ventures into history, art, and the great-outdoors. You should have been with us today. We rode on the Tennessee Valley Railroad. It’s a 15 mile ride through the forest. They have a museum with many antique train equipment, including a 1911 locomotive and a lazy-Susan that turns the train around. These are probably like the trains that your father worked on before I was born. I took lots of pictures to show you. The train station includes an old telegraph office.
David

Dear Uncle Ben and Aunt “G”,
Another fun day. Remember when you took me to the carnival last summer in Ashland, and how much I liked the merry-go-round? Well, there is a carousel in Chattanooga that is incredible. It’s in Coolidge Park, on the banks of the river. Mom and Dad went shopping while Patrick and I rode the horses. Afterwards, we went and played in the fountain to cool off. We had to go back to our hotel, the Chattanoogan, so we could get some dry clothes.  Then we went to dinner at a kewl restaurant.  Sticky Fingers serves nothing but ribs! I’m tired and my tummy’s full! Dad went jogging tonight on Riverpark Trail and he’s now down in the sauna. I thought it was too hot. Goodnight.
David

Dear Grampie,
We visited the Chattanooga Choo Choo today. It’s a Holiday Inn. The historic old station is a national landmark. It has the largest freestanding brick dome in the world. In addition to the 48 old sleeper cars, they have regular hotel rooms. The old train cars are original.  The Station House Restaurant, which is next to the old locomotive, is a lot of fun. They have a live band, and waiters and waitresses take turns singing. They had real good voices, not like me. We will drive home on Wednesday after we visit the Civil War’s Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park. Some guys dress up as old soldiers and reenact a battle. See you soon.
David

Uncle John,
We visited Chattanooga Market today. They sell flowers, fruits, vegetables, spices, pottery, art, rocking chairs, honey and jelly.  Everything must be made or grown by the people that sell it. A band and some Indian dancers performed with swords. Afterwards, we visited the Bluff View Arts District and Sculpture Garden. The Icarus-like statue soaring over the Tennessee River was my favorite. There are several restaurants and B&Bs here in very old buildings. We ate a fancy dinner at Martin House.
David

Billy,
We had lunch today at Cibo. It’s Italian. Mom, Dad and Sis all liked it. There is a nice old steeple nearby. Miller Park is across the street. They have concerts in the park, and the day we were there the high school marching band performed. It’s a relaxing area in the city center. We leave tomorrow, so this is the only postcard you’ll get.
David

Photographs by David Currier

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